The Justice Department has suspended its investigation into former President Joe Biden’s use of an AutoPen, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The investigation was opened by current Justice Department pardon attorney and former “weaponization” governor Ed Martin while serving as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. It recently ended under U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jenny Pirro, a longtime Trump ally and former Fox News host.
The news was first reported by The New York Times.
The AutoPen case was never presented to a grand jury, as was the case Pirro’s office tried to bring last month against six members of Congress who participated in a social media video urging members of the military and intelligence communities not to comply with illegal orders.
The person explained on the matter that it is difficult to bring a criminal case when there is no easily identifiable and applicable criminal law.
The White House referred inquiries from NBC News on the matter to the Justice Department. A spokeswoman for Pirro’s office, citing Justice Department policy, said the office does not confirm or deny the existence of criminal investigations.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June demanding a broad investigation into Biden and his administration officials following Trump’s claims that Biden’s aides used the “AutoOpen” signature to cover up the former president’s “cognitive decline.”
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee investigated Biden’s use of the AutoPen, writing in a report in October that some executive actions the former president signed with the AutoPen were “illegal” because he was suffering from a mental breakdown and was unaware of the contents.
Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that Biden used an autopen in many of his executive orders, said in November that he would rescind executive orders signed by Biden using his autopen.
It’s unclear how often the former president used the autopen, as there are no official government records of when it was used. In a statement in June, Biden responded to Trump’s claims, saying, “Let me be clear: I made decisions during my presidency.”
“I have taken decisions on amnesties, executive orders, statutes and proclamations,” he said in a statement. “Any suggestion I don’t make is ridiculous and false.”
The investigation into the former president’s use of the Autopen comes as Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate several of his political foes after returning to office.
The DOJ sought to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James. A federal judge threw out the criminal charges against both Comey and James in November.
It sent criminal subpoenas to various state and local government offices in Minnesota in January, alleging that Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey conspired to obstruct law enforcement during their immigration operations. Neither has been charged, and legal experts have widely condemned the investigation, which they say is based on a weak legal premise and has a chilling effect on free speech.
